Spring Break
Students brave cold for renewable energy
Pat Moehrle
Issue date: 12/7/07 Section: News
Profitable business practices are not commonly associated with environmentalism, but a new campus business club aims to change that.
The Society for Green Business was informally formed about two months ago to encourage sustainable and environmentally friendly business practices, said senior logistics and marketing major Brandon Moffitt, a club co-founder. Club members hope to host guest speakers and have weekly club discussions, Moffitt said.
0nce the group gains some prominence, members plan to form committees to analyze environmental practices on the campus and around College Park, they said. When needed, they will present solutions to environmental problems.
Club president Gavin Christiansen, a senior marketing major, said the business school curriculum does not focus enough on green business practices and that the society will fill that void.
"I saw it as something that was missing in the business school," he said.
Group members also want to inform their business school peers so they can make positive environmental decisions when they leave the university, they said.
"In order to be a productive society, we have to take care of the Earth first," said senior marketing major Danielle LoRusso, the group's vice president of marketing.
Group members said they want to study companies that prioritize the environment in their daily workings. The club's list of guest speakers to invite includes a General Electric representative because of the company's Ecomagination initiative, which combines profitability with ecologically sound products.
More businesses should follow General Electric's model, Moffitt said.
"They are sound business practices that make you more efficient, but they also minimize use on resources and, in a lot of cases, they save organizations money," Moffitt said.
The society is off to a fast start. Two weeks ago it received official approval from the Smith Undergraduate Student Association, which entitles the club to funding and allows it to use the Van Munching Building for meetings and events. The Collegiate Entrepreneurs Organization at the Universities at Shady Grove has also asked the society to get involved in its yearly conference, Moffitt said.
The Society for Green Business was informally formed about two months ago to encourage sustainable and environmentally friendly business practices, said senior logistics and marketing major Brandon Moffitt, a club co-founder. Club members hope to host guest speakers and have weekly club discussions, Moffitt said.
0nce the group gains some prominence, members plan to form committees to analyze environmental practices on the campus and around College Park, they said. When needed, they will present solutions to environmental problems.
Club president Gavin Christiansen, a senior marketing major, said the business school curriculum does not focus enough on green business practices and that the society will fill that void.
"I saw it as something that was missing in the business school," he said.
Group members also want to inform their business school peers so they can make positive environmental decisions when they leave the university, they said.
"In order to be a productive society, we have to take care of the Earth first," said senior marketing major Danielle LoRusso, the group's vice president of marketing.
Group members said they want to study companies that prioritize the environment in their daily workings. The club's list of guest speakers to invite includes a General Electric representative because of the company's Ecomagination initiative, which combines profitability with ecologically sound products.
More businesses should follow General Electric's model, Moffitt said.
"They are sound business practices that make you more efficient, but they also minimize use on resources and, in a lot of cases, they save organizations money," Moffitt said.
The society is off to a fast start. Two weeks ago it received official approval from the Smith Undergraduate Student Association, which entitles the club to funding and allows it to use the Van Munching Building for meetings and events. The Collegiate Entrepreneurs Organization at the Universities at Shady Grove has also asked the society to get involved in its yearly conference, Moffitt said.
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Ethan
posted 12/07/07 @ 3:09 PM EST
This is an old article and doesnt match the print headline. Please, post the story about the big "Green Out". We gathered 700 signatures in one day! Thanks UMD. (Continued…)
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